


A Little Selfish

by wonderlandflamingo



Series: Earth-44 [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Canonical Character Death, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 11:41:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12432087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderlandflamingo/pseuds/wonderlandflamingo
Summary: Henry loved his son.  He loved his daughter-in-law and grandson just as much.  He loved them, but he also worried about them, especially since they lived so far away.





	A Little Selfish

Nora Allen had died in a car accident when Barry was in high school.  She’d been out running errands when she’d been hit by a man running a red light.  Barry had been devastated and Henry felt like a part of him had died that day.  He couldn’t lose himself in his depression though, he still had Barry to look out for.  It was hard, but the two of them made it through. 

Barry had been sad and angry about his mom’s death.  He let it consume him for years.  He was angry at the world for taking his mother away and it made it hard for him to make friends.  The few he had he pushed away.  He focused all of his energy on school.  He thought if he did well in school, then college, and then made a name for himself somehow than he could make her proud.  Henry tried to talk to him, tell him that Nora would have preferred him happy than chasing some idea of what she’d want.

Barry didn’t listen and Henry worried.  He worried even more when Barry went away for school.  He worried that with so much distance between them that he’d lose Barry.  So, he was surprised when he got an apologetic phone call one day from Barry.  It was about halfway through Barry’s first semester and he called to apologize to Henry.  He was sorry he never listened to him and that he didn’t realize how hard it must have been for him to lose the love of his life. 

Henry didn’t need an apology.  He just wanted what was best for his son.

That phone call would be there first of many Henry would get from Barry that year.  Each time he called he sounded better, happier.  When he came home for the holidays that year he told Henry all about this girl he had met.  He’d met her in class and talking to her had helped him work through a lot of the stuff he’d been feeling since Nora had died.  He told Henry that he was thinking about asking her out next semester.  

Henry was proud of his son.  He was happy that Barry found someone he could talk to and was working through his issues.  He was overjoyed that Barry was moving on and learning to live his life.  Henry knew that he would always miss Nora and so would Barry, but it was great that Barry was learning how to be happy in spite of that.  Henry was sure that Nora would be happy for their son too.

Henry loved Caitlin the moment he met her.  She came to visit the summer after her and Barry’s first year.  She was nothing but polite and sweet to Henry and he could tell she adored Barry.  She was also smart and interested in Henry’s work.  Barry had never been interested in medicine, but Caitlin was fascinated.  She wanted to be a doctor and took advantage of having Henry around to ask questions and gain new knowledge.

Henry worried though, when a year after that first phone call from Barry he got another.  This time the news was that Caitlin was pregnant.  Barry seemed so happy about the news.  He was excited that he was going to be a dad, but he admitted that he was also scared.  Henry had to admit that he was too.  Caitlin and Barry weren’t nearly as prepared to start a family as Nora and Henry had been when they had Barry.  He was worried about how hard it would be for them to provide not only for themselves, but for an infant.  How would it effect their schoolwork? 

Henry promised that he’d help them however he could.  There was so much distance between them that he helped out mostly by sending money or things for little baby Bart. 

Before Bart had been born Barry had gotten a job at a call center.  He hated every minute of it, but the hours were regular and it provided benefits.  He would work all day and then go home to take care of Bart while Caitlin went to class.  Caitlin arranged her schedule so that there were days when Barry could take his own classes.  Barry had been willing to drop out to take care of Bart while Caitlin worked on her degree and on getting into medical school, but Caitlin felt guilty about that.  She hated that Barry was so miserable at work and wanted Barry to follow his dreams as much as he wanted her to follow her own.  She just wasn’t sure how to make it work.  So, they settled for Barry taking classes when he could.

He was still working towards his dreams, just at a much slower pace.

Henry had an idea, though.  He wasn’t sure Barry would like it, but he had an idea.  Henry decided he would sell the house and move closer to Barry and his family.  He had been thinking about retiring soon anyway, so if he moved he either wouldn’t be working, or working very little.  That meant he’d have all the time in the world to look after his grandson while his parents worked and went to class.

He decided it would be best to talk about it with Caitlin first.  She was a little more rational than Barry was.  If Henry could get Caitlin on his side than Barry would be a piece of cake.  He brought it up while they were visiting over a break with Bart.  He’d asked Barry to run to the store for them.  While his son was gone Henry talked to his daughter-in-law about his plan.  They were sitting at the kitchen table with Bart in Caitlin’s lap.  Bart babbled and played with a stuffed animal while Henry spoke.

“I don’t want to tell you no,” she said after Henry had finished.  “I’d love the help and it would be great to see you more.  But, I'd feel guilty about you uprooting your life for us.”

“This move isn’t entirely selfless,” Henry told her.  “Since my wife died Barry’s been my whole world.  Now, though I don't just have Barry.  I have you and Bart, and I have to admit it’s pretty lonely having you all so far away.”

“We can’t have grandpa getting lonely now can we,” Caitlin said to Bart and Henry knew he'd won. 

The baby let out an excited noise, dropped his toy, and stretched his arms out towards Henry.  Henry reached out and scooped him out of Caitlin’s lap.  He cooed at the baby while Caitlin watched with a smile. 

“It would be great to have you around more,” Caitlin said with a smile.  “Not just for the free babysitting.  It would be good for Bart and Barry to see you more often and honestly I’d like it too.  You've been more of a father to me than mine ever was.”

Henry stood up from his chair with Bart cradled in one arm and stepped over to Caitlin.  He wrapped his free arm around her and gave her a big hug.  She wrapped her own arms around Henry and returned the hug.  She was family now and Henry never wanted her to forget.  No matter how dysfunctional her own family was, Henry would be there for her and love her just as much as he loved Barry.  He was glad she was on board with his plan and that they could both be a little selfish.  Henry was going to enjoy seeing his family whenever he wanted.  Now, they just needed to let Barry know.      

**Author's Note:**

> This probably has way too much exposition, but oh well. Hopefully it's still enjoyable. I know it was at least good practice for me.


End file.
